In affiliation with Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP

E-Update for August 25, 2017

25 Aug

E-Update for August 25, 2017

E-Update

Please note, we will not be publishing on Friday, September 1 due to Labor Day weekend.

Highlights:

  • Congress is currently on recess until Tuesday, September 5.
  • On August 24, U.S. Department of Education (USED) announced in the Federal Register that it will hold two public hearings regarding postsecondary education regulations that could be repealed, replaced, or modified.
  • Chairman of the Senate HELP Committee Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Ranking Member of the HELP Committee Patty Murray (D-WA) will hold two bipartisan hearings on health care in September.

Congress:

House and Senate Democrats Send Letter to Attorney General Sessions and USED Secretary DeVos Regarding Campus Racial Diversity: A group of House and Senate Democrats, including Ranking Member of the House Education and the Workforce Committee Bobby Scott (D-VA) and Ranking Member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee Patty Murray (D-WA), sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions and U.S. Department of Education (USED) Secretary Betsy DeVos regarding a recent U.S. Department of Justice memo which demonstrated an intent to reevaluate the federal government’s process for ensuring racial diversity on college campuses. In the letter, the members raised concerns about the impact this could have on student’s civil rights.
August 21, 2017

House:

Representative Adams Releases Statement Asking Trump Administration to Postpone 2017 National HBCU Conference: Representative Alma Adams (R-NC) released a statement asking the Trump Administration to postpone USED’s annual conference for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). In her statement, Rep. Adams noted, “I call on the President and Secretary DeVos to postpone this year’s conference until a serious effort has been made to advance issues important to HBCUs and their students.”
August 18, 2017

  • On August 24, in response, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders stated that the conference will not be postponed.

Senate:

Two Bipartisan Healthcare Hearings Announced in the Senate: Chairman of the Senate HELP Committee Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Ranking Member of the Committee Patty Murray (D-WA) announced two bipartisan hearings on health care. The first hearing will be on September 6 at 10:00 am and will focus on the perspective of state insurance commissioners. The second hearing will be on September 7 at 9:00 am and will focus on the perspective of Governors representing the states of Massachusetts, Montana, Tennessee, Utah, and Colorado. More information on the September 7 hearing is available here.
August 22, 2017

Administration:

U.S. Department of Education (USED):

USED Announces Two Public Hearings Regarding Modifications to Postsecondary Regulations: USED announced in the Federal Register that it will hold two public hearings regarding postsecondary education regulations that could be repealed, replaced, or modified. The hearings will be held on September 26 in Utah and October 4 in Washington, DC.
August 24, 2017

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB):

CFPB Files Amicus Brief Regarding USED’s Debt Collection Plan: CFPB filed an amicus brief in defense of USED’s plan to send defaulted student loans to debt collection companies. Previously, a lower court blocked the Department from doing so, but in its amicus brief, CFPB argued that this decision should be reversed in part because the court’s decision would place greater harm on borrowers. However, CFPB also recommended reforms to USED’s debt collection process, such as providing defaulted borrowers with access to reliable, long-term income-driven repayment plans and improving communication with borrowers.
August 21, 2017

Publications:

  • On August 22, the Institute of Education Sciences’ National Center for Education Statistics released a First Look report titled, “Characteristics of Public Elementary and Secondary Schools in the United States: Results From the 2015-16 National Teacher and Principal Survey.” The report finds that during the 2015-16 school year, approximately 46 million students attended traditional public schools and 3 million students attended public charter schools. This was one of many findings. The report is available here.

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